My dad who lived in NE TX always bet on the Jockey not the horse. He grew up just before WW2 in the Great Depression. Your horse meant something about you. Not to be racist but paints were horses for blacks or Indians. White guys rode bays, chestnuts, greys, etc, Kinda like a Mustang car or a Dodge Charger.
I know a guy who won’t bet horses but he bets dogs. He says “The dogs don’t have monkeys on their backs telling them what to do and when to do it.”